Texas has more than 740 golf courses spread across a state large enough to contain every type of terrain in golf. You can play through Chihuahuan Desert canyons near Big Bend, Hill Country limestone draws west of Austin, links-style flats on the Gulf Coast, and modern championship layouts in the booming Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Green fees range from under $20 at municipal courses to well over $200 at the state’s premier resort destinations.

This guide focuses on the best public-access courses in the state - places where you can book a tee time without a private membership. Several appear on national rankings from Golf Digest, GolfPass, and Golfweek.

West Texas and the Big Bend Region

The most remote top-ranked course in Texas is also the one that consistently tops every list.

Black Jack’s Crossing at Lajitas Golf Resort sits in far west Texas at the edge of Big Bend National Park. The Lanny Wadkins design plays 7,400 yards at par 72 through the Chihuahuan Desert, with holes carved along the Rio Grande and through volcanic rock canyons. GolfPass named it the No. 1 public course in Texas in its 2026 Golfers’ Choice rankings. The isolation is part of the draw - getting there requires a four-hour drive from the nearest major airport, but the setting is unlike anything else in American golf.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

The DFW area has seen more new high-end golf construction in recent years than any other region in Texas.

Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco is the centerpiece of PGA of America’s new national headquarters campus in Frisco. The 7,863-yard par-72 layout is one of two championship courses at the complex. Both Fields Ranch East and Fields Ranch West appear in the GolfPass top five for Texas in 2026. The facility also includes a 2-acre putting course and short course, making it a complete golf destination for the Metroplex.

Old American Golf Club in The Colony plays 7,175 yards at par 71 along the shores of Lake Lewisville. Designed by Tripp Davis and Justin Leonard, the layout draws on early American golf architecture with wide fairways, strategic bunkering, and firm conditions. It rounds out the GolfPass top five for the state.

The Bridges Golf Club in Gunter is a Jeff Brauer and Fred Couples collaboration playing 7,601 yards north of the Metroplex. Brauer designed four of the top 25 public courses in Texas according to GolfDay’s 2025 rankings, and The Bridges is one of his strongest Texas layouts with extensive mounding and water features.

The Wilderness Golf Club is another Jeff Brauer design that regularly appears on Texas best-of lists. The wooded layout provides a contrast to the open prairie courses more common in north Texas.

The Texas Hill Country

The limestone terrain and live oak forests west of Austin and San Antonio produce some of the most scenic golf in the state.

Wolfdancer Golf Club at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort east of Austin is an Arthur Hills design built across rolling terrain along the Colorado River. The course offers resort access and was designed to blend with the native landscape of the Lost Pines forest.

Horseshoe Bay Resort Summit Rock near Marble Falls is the newest of four courses at the Horseshoe Bay resort complex. Jack Nicklaus designed the layout across dramatic Hill Country ridgelines with significant elevation changes and views of the surrounding canyons. It is generally considered the best of the four Horseshoe Bay courses.

Boot Ranch Golf Club in Fredericksburg is a Hal Sutton design set among the Hill Country’s live oaks and granite outcrops. While primarily a private residential community, limited guest access is available through the club.

South Texas and the Coastal Plain

Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio provides a strong public option in the south-central part of the state. The course features wide fairways and strategic bunkering across open terrain on the edge of the city.

Houston and East Texas

Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston is the most significant recent renovation story in Texas public golf. Tom Doak - the architect behind Pacific Dunes in Oregon and other top-100-ranked courses - led a comprehensive renovation that was highlighted in GolfDay’s 2025 rankings at No. 4 in the state. The municipal course plays 7,164 yards at par 72 and hosts the Houston Open on the PGA Tour. Green fees remain at standard pricing, making it one of the best values in championship-level public golf anywhere in the country.

West Texas

The Rawls Course at Texas Tech University in Lubbock is another Tom Doak design - a 7,207-yard layout on the Llano Estacado with a links character shaped by the constant West Texas wind. The course ranked No. 2 in Texas in GolfDay’s 2025 public course rankings and is open to the public at luxury-tier pricing. Doak’s minimalist approach lets the natural terrain define the holes, with wide playing corridors that reward position over brute distance.

Planning Your Trip

Texas peak golf season runs from October through May, when temperatures across most of the state are comfortable for a full day on the course. Summer green fees drop at many courses, but triple-digit heat in July and August means early morning tee times are essential.

Browse all Texas golf courses in the FairwayDB directory, or use the interactive map to find courses near your destination.